The present invention relates in general to vibratory electric tools; more particularly, to portable vibratory devices for sanding, polishing, cleaning and the like applications.
Much of the prior art devices designed for sanding, polishing or cleaning surfaces use a platen supporting an abrasive sheet or polishing pad which is reciprocated or orbited by electric means. In the prior art, the platen is generally attached to the vibrating device by screws. In some of this art, the screws are not readily accessible to an operator for removal of the platen, and in other art, the screws have their heads adjacent the abrasive sheet or polishing pad in cavities in a resilient surface attached to the platen. Examples of the former construction are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,631 in which machine disassembly is required to remove the screws retaining the platen, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,508 in which the resilient surface attached to the platen must be removed in order to gain access to the screws. Examples of the latter construction in which the screws are accessible through cavities in a resilient surface are found in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,077,165, 4,848,850, 2,830,411, and 2,790,276. In almost all of these cases, removal of the platen requires removal of the abrasive sheet or polishing pad as a minimum and, in other cases, extensive machine disassembly is required.
What is required is an arrangement in which the platen may be readily removed from the sanding or polishing device to allow insertion of another platen having a different abrasive sheet or polishing pad, or to allow the sanding or polishing device to be used for another purpose. Ideally, the arrangement for attaching the platen should permit ready engagement or disengagement of the same from the sanding or polishing device, provide for alignment of the platen on the device, and retain the same firmly in the operative position, all in an economical form of construction.